‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Ratings Drop 34% to 8.4 Million Viewers

The bad news first: after Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. made history with its premiere episode – pulling in nearly 12 million viewers total – the series’ second episode didn’t fair as well. With a total audience of 8.4 million viewers, the show dropped 34%, which is a significant loss for any network or program, even those not tied to movie universes.

As shocking as that decline in viewers may seem, it’s worth pointing out that TV shows almost always drop viewers after the premiere episode, and Disney’s heavy marketing of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. meant that there would likely be more fans tuning in for the premiere than would actually be hooked. Even so, this could be the start of a perilous trend for Joss Whedon’s latest project, meaning ABC, Disney and Marvel may need to realign their plans if they intend to make the show a long-term success.

The drop in ratings will undoubtedly lead many to proclaim that ‘DC rules’ and that this is evidence of just how ‘terrible’ the show is from top to bottom. Of course, using the amount of people who made the decision to tune in to an episode as a gauge for its quality is a dangerous science. Yet even if fans of Joss Whedon choose to overlook the show’s lukewarm start and embrace it wholeheartedly, we retain our stance that the show has some serious improvements to make.

Although it’s hard to categorize a show with over 8 million viewers tuning in as a “failure,” neither Disney nor Marvel are in this for a modest success. One of the biggest questions about the proposed S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series was whether the same amount of fans who helped The Avengers cross the $1 billion mark would tune in, despite the show lacking the talents of Iron Man, Captain America, or Thor. And a 34% drop in ratings – even with a special appearance from Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) – won’t be calming those fears.

(Then again, people didn’t exactly know Sam Jackson would be showing up. Maybe next time the producers will put him in the previews.)

Compared to the premiere episode, the writing did succeed in showing a bit more of each character. However, the characters seem to be where the showrunners are placing the heaviest load, not necessarily the show’s connections to the larger Marvel universe. Since the show is the brainchild of Joss and Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen (the minds behind Dollhouse), that’s no surprise. But with slipping viewership, we’d predict that Samuel L. Jackson’s cameo is only the beginning of recognizable faces or names being dropped left and right.

Does this ratings slip mean the future of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is suddenly in peril? Probably not. After all, the shockingly successful head of Marvel Kevin Feige was the one who convinced Joss Whedon to direct The Avengers, seeing talent where others saw a bad bet. After proving himself with The Avengers, Whedon accepted a position as the head of all things Marvel, including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. With all that in mind, it seems that not only is Whedon in the driver’s seat, but he has better odds than ever of getting enough time to grow the show in the direction he wishes.

Only time will tell if the show finds a massive fanbase, or a strongly vocal and devoted one (which is usually the case for Whedon’s camp). But if the show’s writers start placing more of an emphasis on larger issues, like exactly how Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) is still alive, success will be easier to come by.

What do you make of this ratings drop? Is the show done for, merely stabilizing, or still a success by your estimation? Give us your thoughts in the comments.

I think the show is decent, but I feel like the cast just seems to young to make it believable that they are “Level 7″ worthy.
One of the main things keeping me is because it is Marvel and the name drops are nice. But it’s more a detective show than a superhero show.
Just my opinion of course.

Marvel didn’t make ‘Agents of SHIELD’ because they thought they could make something great, they made it because they could just because of how popular Marvel had become. But I don’t care about whether it’s a cash cow or not.

But why would you expect to like a show that has so much Whedon influence? You don’t like the Avengers, and you don’t even like Firefly, as I recall.

The fact that you don’t care for this admittedly weak SHIELD show is no surprise… to me at least. The second episode was quite a bit better than the first in my opinion… I say give it a chance. Or not.

There’s no difference, bad publicity is still publicity… just look at all the comments!

ColdSc 1 year ago

@FILTHpig

Difference is, well, SHIELD is already airing lol. Which opinion is more important, after a show or film releases or before? That’s of course if you’re referring to Mindbender’s stance on the publicity of Man of Steel 2.

FILTHpig 1 year ago

Actually it was pertaining to the negative publicity that Batfleck got.

AoS isn’t as bad as many make it out to be on here. It’s not perfect, but it has potential. Much like how people feel about the next Batman/Superman movie.

Much like people have told me about Batfleck, give AoS time, give it a chance. Although it has a ways to go, I think it’s on the right track.

When word that Ben Affleck is Batman hit, the world exploded and the majority of people who were ready to jump off a bridge have since calmed down. All the memes, over reactions, petitions… all of that was FANTASTIC publicity for something that is YET TO HAPPEN.

Now, if word about AoS being terrible reaches your local news… then yes… it is receiving good publicity.

A comment page specifically for the show is not the same kind of publicity, FILTHpig… the only people here are people who have heard about it or have already seen the show.

FILTHpig 1 year ago

So this website has 8 to 12 million visitors and it’s them, and only them that watch AoS on TV? I’m sure there’s plenty of people out there watching that don’t visit sites like this… 7.99 million or so.

You think it was good, but who do you think was making those memes? People that visit sites like this. Now everyone I’VE talked to in real life hates or laughs at the idea of Batfleck. There’s still a sizable percentage that hates the idea. It’s not going away.

Dr Mindbender 1 year ago

^^I’m not quite sure which is more pathetic- This response or the fact that you think this is an adequate response to the point that is being made.

You completely ignored the point that was made, and have instead tried to twist this into a “I still have friends that say Ben Affleck is stupid” argument.

I think Junior League has said enough. Quit while you still can… or risk continuing to make yourself appear foolish.

I have nothing against Joss Whedon. Its just that the show is kind of not needed. When I said it was a cash cow I meant that Disney is going to make as much money off of marvel until they stop making money. The mainstream audience is eventually going to get tired of Marvel. Its kind of overkill. They (Disney) already releases two or three movies a year. I read one of the comments that marvel isn’t the head of this project, and that’s already a danger.

Patience shouldn’t be required to enjoy a TV show. It is either good or it isn’t. Each episode needs to stand on its own. Particularly the very first episodes of a show. And yes, I get that “arcs” will come later, but even if there isn’t an arc happening, “bad” episodes make me want to turn off the TV and go to bed.

It might get better, it might not. I’m done watching it for now. I value my time, and rarely watch TV. I am not going to sit and watch every single episode of crappy TV because “it might get better.”

You guys can say “I told you so” after Season 1 if it improves. I’ll catch up then.

I’m surprised the ratings didn’t drop more. The first ep. was pretty bad, and even if it was great it can’t appeal to everyone. Marvel tried to make an event out of the pilot and they made a big splash, but there’s no way anyone could have expected the numbers to stay up.

I think after the the first 5 or so eps. we can gauge the viewership, because at that point the show will have found it’s audience. I thought the second ep. was great, I’m just being realistic.

The show is by no means “failing” at this stage. 8.4 million is still good ratings for broadcast television, and most shows typically experience a ratings drop after the premier. If the ratings continue to drop over the next couple of episodes, yeah, then there is a problem.

the nick fury cameo was absolutely hilarious and extremely rewarding,
just the tease that we will get little cameos like that through this series makes me very keen.
I wasn’t keen on the first episode, but by the second I understood what kind of show it was
and I’m definitely a fan.

That cameo sucked. It was just a Samuel L. Jackson cameo, not Nick Fury. “Don’t talk to me about authority. I have the authority to downgrade your ass to Winnebago.” It was so Snakes on a Plane it was painful.

I agree the prospect of cameos is exciting but the writers have said that they aren’t doing those a lot. I’d rather have them introduce lesser know heroes than cameo RDJ and SLJ every couple episodes.

The show definitely has potential but it’s a bit too cute right now. If they just shift the tone a bit and really hook us with some stories it could be pretty great. It’s got humor, but it needs a little something else.

Im not surprised the way ABC was marketing it you would have thought Ironman, Captain America and Thor were on the show making their own shield teams and taking them out on missions. Then you got the real show which was lackluster and predictable.

They had better hurry up and have them fighting Hydra or AIM or have a hero on there before its too late. It does have its moments. Im still watching with a hope of it getting better

I don’t think the show is in “jeopardy” as the article put it. It’s just starting. I remember no one giving a crap about “Breaking Bad” when it first started. The first season didn’t have the numbers last night’s episode of AoS had. Going forward, they need to make it more serialized and less “danger-of-the-week” episodic IMHO. That’s one of the best ways to keep a CB TV show (that’s on a budget no less) still feel like a Comic Book. They don’t necessarily have to show a comic book character EVERY episode. Although seeing Nick Fury at the end definitely shows they are serious about their promise of consolidation in their cinematic universe.

I liked episode 2 much better than the pilot. After seeing two episodes, I kind of glad that they’re purposely staying away from “lets-show-an-avenger-a-week” type of thing. The show needs to establish itself. The first half of the season on pretty much any genre show goes through this. I’m pretty that drop off comes from the avg person expecting to have seen Iron Man, Thor, or Cap. True fans are going to give it a shot if for no other reason than not wanting to miss an easter egg drop here and there. And if Disney/Marvel is smart, they wont let us know which show will have said easter eggs in them.

I thought the pilot was ok. Episode 2 was way better. That being said I don’t believe they should throw everything out there at once. This is a 20+ episode series. This show needs time to develop characters and story lines. They may have promoted the heck out of it, but they were dreaming if they though it was going to beat NCIS or even The Voice right out of the gate.

Totally agree with you there. Every show needs to grow. Two episodes in and the naysayers show their … heads. I’m not surprised. If anything, Marvel Has proven time and again they know what they are doing with THEIR STUFF.

Not really surprised, usually what happens though, if it continues declining like this, it won’t be on the air for long. I think it’ll hold up though, my guess is, by the 5th episode, it’ll probably average out to either 8-9 million, which isn’t bad if you ask me. Not sure if Disney would be pleased with it though. Plus, it’s only the second episode, anything can happen.

One thing they should improve is add a bit of drama to it. It’s too light for people to invest their time in it I find. It’s half way between a comedy and drama. Not enough of each so it comes off as unfocused to me. Without a solid and intriguing storyline, I’m not sure it’ll do well in the long run.

I am about to be that guy..but um…total viewers doesn’t matter to networks it the 18-49 demo that matters for renewal cancellation purposes because that’s what advertisers look at and this week Agents of Shield pulled a 3.3 million in the 18-49 demo still a big drop from episode 1 but overall a pretty darn good raiting if you ask me I mean look at their competition The Voice and NCIS

S.H.I.E.L.D. is a brand, a sterling brand, which
commands high expectations and building a show
around what amounts to S.H.I.E.L.D. lite, hurts the
brand and works against the expectations in the name.

I have never followed a US drama/action series till this one, they better not kill it. I have only ever followed truly followed comedy shows and sitcoms as all the other shows have been too serious and boring to me

They are just fine. Arrow isn’t even that great and they are doing fine. They need more Avengers superhero cameos, and more episodes that features more on the super-hero/super-villain. And the previews need more tweaking/marketing to showcase more which superhero/villain cameo will be on the next episode. And more episodes that ties/links to any Marvel movie. They should make episodes that ties more to what godawful happened in Iron Man 3.

I don’t think this show is in jeopardy at all because it’s technically a Disney/Marvel TV Show and look how much money they currently have and will be getting more with future films. They’ll keep the show going with the huge amount of cash they have.

Yeah. I could tell it was a Whedon show when the script was full of unnecessary jokes that had me cringing (again, just like The Avengers actually. One of the movie channels aired Batman Begins then The Avengers back to back and I still can’t bring myself to enjoy the latter movie, especially when lame comedy moments ruin the scenes, case in point, Loki saying “I’m listening” when Stark attacks Thor or the goofy cartoon-like whimper when Hulk slammed Loki into the floor.)

Damn right, I had a principal who everyone thought looked like Hulk Hogan and when I set up a pro wrestling thing at my high school and asked him to be special guest referee for the main event, he tuned into ECW as research.

Season 1 of The Office got abysmal ratings and was almost cancelled if I remember correctly.

I dunno, it still feels like not much of a drop for me. Maybe that’s because, here in the UK, a celebrity dancing show is seen as a ratings winner for pulling in 9 million viewers and I’ve seen major shows go as low as 500,000 viewers before the hosts were changed for a brief ratings spike.

Needless to say, episode 2 hasn’t aired here yet and episode 1 sucked really badly but I also thought Hannibal was a terrible show until I saw episode 2 and became hooked so a ratings drop is nothing until it drops even lower.

I’d hazard a guess that people tuned in to the first episode in huge numbers because they were curious if any heroes would be shown from the movies and because it was a new and hyped show while episodes 2 and 3 of a new show tend to have a drop before picking back up again.

Again, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Arrow had me hooked from episode 1 but it had its share of cheesy, eye rolling teen drama moments and while my brother came to me with the exact same comments yesterday (“the jokes weren’t funny and there were too many of them, the characters were boring, things happened through convenience, it was as bad as The Avengers”), he too will continue to watch in case it improves.

Hell, he watches Under The Dome and told me it was better than Agents Of SHIELD so his faith is stronger than some people on here it seems.

Give it until episode 5, then jump overboard if you have to. That’s my plan.

That’s true but The Office ended up lasting for 9 seasons before bowing out.

Just comparing it with what I know really. Giving the international viewpoint of the whole situation.

The 500,000 viewer thing too, that was a major breakfast TV show that had been around since the mid 80s pretty much (albeit under updated names, like Daybreak) and used to get close to 8 million viewers every morning between 6-9:20am on weekdays.

I guess that’s why I find US networks weird. Great shows get cancelled after a brief drop in ratings, crap shows continue to get airtime for years and seasons go on for 6 months with a 4 month mid-season break or something ridiculous like that while we prefer 8 episodes maximum per season, if that.

Two episodes in, it’s not a problem. If the ratings drop throughout the season, then the show will get cancelled. It’s too early to tell how good it’s going to get, but the second episode was a lot better than the first. I think it’ll continue to improve and people should give it a chance. Most shows aren’t as good the first season, unless you’re talking about ‘Lost’ or something… and that show fell apart in after season two.

IMO, the following shows had amazing first seasons and those who have had more seasons air since have continued to be great:

Game Of Thrones, Spartacus, 24, The Following, Hannibal, Ray Donovan, Arrow, The Office (US version, hated the original), Frasier, An Idiot Abroad, The Borgias, Life On Mars and the sequel show Ashes To Ashes, Mad Dogs, Homeland.

Also,despite them still being in the early stages of season 1, Peaky Blinders, Orphan Black, Bates Motel and Low Winter Sun.

An honest question, would anyone continue watching this show if it wasn’t Marvel? Let’s say you watched the pilot for the sake of it, would you check back in for the later episodes?

Obviously, I’m basing this on just two episodes but I think the pilot would’ve turned me off. The second episode would’ve definitely been a done deal for me. It doesn’t really have anything to grab me back in to be honest. Other than Coulson, I just can’t see any other upside to either the pilot or the second episode.

Exactly my thought. Sure I checked into Arrow and Smallville because of the name, but it’s the writing that had me continue watching. Sleepy Hollow is also a great example, first episode I was hooked. I usually give 2 or 3 episodes each show a go and see where I stand. With SHIELD, I’m pretty much done with it lol. I always try to see the upsides in TV shows and films but the only one I see here is Coulson.

Even the diehard Marvel fans have been saying that this show is cheesy and that they will stay with it merely for the references to the larger movieverse! They are willing to stay with what could very well be a crappy kiddy show just for some mentions of something they think really IS good.

The premise behind this show is tracing paper thin at best, and without the current popularity of the Marvel brand this show would not have even made it on the air. Even die-hard comic book fans need to be honest and admit that if this was a comic it probably would not draw many readers.

Being tied into the Avengers is the main draw for this show, but the question is how much longer can they mine 6-7 movies that had a limited amount of source material behind it for plots and name dropping.

My thought as well. Would any of us care about this show if it wasn’t branded as Marvel? I don’t really plan on watching again even being that it is Marvel.

I think that most of the films have been pretty good, some really good. This show, however, feels like it is attempting to coast on the franchise name. Maybe that will work, but I wish that it felt like a better quality production, designed to stand on its own merits.

The show is just “okay”. We have 4 minor agents one tag along and Coulson who we don’t even know if it’s really Coulson or a life model decoy. I think the show really needs to get in gear and start bringing in other unknown heroes and villains even if they are “C” listers just to make the show enjoyable. It gives an opening for new heroes for future movies and it’s not boring. We are definitely running out of how many weapons can we refer to that were in the avengers, ironman and Thor movies before they need to start branching out and bring in some new blood. Isn’t that what section 7 is suppose to be for.

they need to stop inventing stuff and introduce and develop other heroes that could eventually show up on the big screen. I guess from now on whenever they find some kind of weapon that’s too dangerous for humankind they’ll have a rocket ship ready to blast it into the Sun.

Angel was cancelled suddenly. Whedon asked the channel’s executives or something for an early answer on whether or not there will be a season 6. The executive responded by saying ‘no’ the next day. A couple months later, Whedon said if they waited (like usual) for the go ahead of an additional season instead of asking head on, they most likely would’ve gotten season 6. I really liked the ending of the series, though another season was probably needed to further the plot and delve into it a bit more to give the audience a more satisfying end. I think season 6 would’ve had some awesome things going for it, really bummed it got cancelled early.

He also said in interviews, before the movie came out, that he was PROUD of his script for Alien Resurrection, so it is fair game to criticize him on that one. That and the dialogue of that movie has his mark all over it.

I will give you the acting performance issue, but Jeunnet not understanding English? Are you saying no one could translate the script for him? That sounds like Wheedonites trying to save face with a movie that ended up with terrible dialogue and an equally terrible plot.

Dude, don’t even try. I don’t like firefly, angel, buffy and dollhouse at all. I did enjoy the avengers however. If you watch the extensive documentaries on the Alien quadrilogy BLU-RAY set, you’ll find that the troubles of Ressurection have been chronicled pretty extensively. I refer you to that. Directors direct performances. Jean-Pierre Jeunnet could barely speak a word of the language he was filming in. The delivery of lines from Whedons already mediocre script did far more damage than the script itself.

It does have some inspired cinematography and set-pieces though regardless. Alien 3 is a FAR better film than anybody gives credit for, going completely off topic

I’m enjoying the show, I do think they need to tighten up the writing a little bit but there is enough their that is keeping me tuned in, that and we need to remember it is a Wheadon show and he usually takes a while to get things really going, but once he does the pay off is usually excellent. so for those on the fence i personally preach patience and give it a few episodes to find its center.

hope the show sticks around for a while, after the 1st episode I had a little bit of doubt, but after watching the 2nd episode (specially with the cameo at the end) im hooked, cant wait to see what they do next